Posted on December 12, 2019 in Uncategorized

For years, law enforcement and anti-drunk driving advocacy groups have pushed state legislators across the country to increase the required use of ignition interlock devices (IID). These devices are designed to prevent drunk driving by requiring the operator to blow into it prior to starting a vehicle and periodically while driving the vehicle. If the device detects the presence of alcohol on the driver's breath, the vehicle will shut down or force you to pull over.

According to Car and Driver, there is some evidence that these devices can limit the rate of drunken driving. However, an investigation by the New York Times highlights some surprising facts about the device. These devices have the potential to put your life and the lives of other drivers at risk, and you have little say in whether the government requires them in your vehicle following a DWI conviction.

IID Supporters Fail to Consider the Risks

There are many interested parties that are in favor of expanded IID requirements. Mothers Against Drunk Driving have long sought mandatory use for every person convicted of a DWI. The CDC has also signaled it is in favor of expanded IID requirements.

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 Posted on December 12, 2019 in Uncategorized

The walk and turn field sobriety test is a common trope in popular culture. Many television depictions of a DWI arrest involve some version of the accused "walking the straight line." As one of the three standardized field sobriety tests, the walk and turn test is also commonplace in real-life DWI arrests. But should they be?

The most often-cited study regarding the accuracy of these tests suggests they are not a strong indicator of intoxication. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, this test only accurately identifies drivers with a blood alcohol concentration of.10 or more 68 percent of the time. While a 32 percent false-positive rate is very high, the figures buried in the study are worse. The overall accuracy rate was bolstered by the officer's ability to identify subjects that were highly intoxicated. This was not the case for the sober drivers in the study. The officers taking part reported that 52 percent of subjects under the legal limit failed the walk and turn test. This means even under the most favorable results, the majority of sober drivers showed false-positive signs of intoxication.

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 Posted on November 11, 2019 in Uncategorized

There are few career paths as long and winding as becoming a lawyer. Anyone dreaming of practicing law or becoming a judge must not only complete their undergraduate work but also graduate from an accredited law school. A law degree does not entitle you to practice law, however. The next step involves passing the bar exam and obtaining gainful employment. Unfortunately, a DWI conviction can throw a wrench in the entire process.

Each year, people across the country see their ambitions crushed thanks to a criminal conviction. While a DWI conviction may not guarantee that your odds of being a lawyer are zero, there is always a risk. The good news is that a misdemeanor DWI is not a crime of moral turpitude. The most important aspect is that you disclose your arrest in your application and in your declaration of intent to study law. Failure to disclose is worse. After all, certain criminal convictions can result in a licensed attorney to face suspension or even lose his or her license. If sitting attorneys face these consequences, it should not surprise you that prospective attorneys could as well.

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 Posted on November 11, 2019 in Uncategorized

For many Houston residents, having a drink after work or at a ball game is one of life's simple pleasures. Looming over every drink, however, is the risk of an arrest for driving while intoxicated. It should come as no surprise, then, that many drivers look for ways to stay out of trouble after a night of drinking. While many are content to take a rideshare or taxi home, others are unwilling or unable to leave their vehicle behind. Personal breathalyzers are the answer for some of these drivers.

The idea is simple: by carrying your own breathalyzer with you, you can test your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) before you drive. If your breathalyzer indicates your BAC is below the legal limit, you are good to drive, right? Unfortunately, it may not be so simple.

How Accurate are Personal Breathalyzers?

Like with any product including the breath machines used by Houston police officers, the quality of personal breathalyzers can vary dramatically. There are keychain breathalyzers available in many drugstores for a few dollars as well as specialty models that can cost several hundred. Unsurprisingly, the difference in accuracy between models is enormous. There are also other reasons why a personal breathalyzer should not be relied on.

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 Posted on November 11, 2019 in Uncategorized

Following an arrest for driving while intoxicated in Harris County, you could find your normal standard of living is turned upside down. Simple tasks like getting to work or going to the store are suddenly a challenge due to your driver's license suspension. This suspension happens after an arrest but can also be a part of a sentence if you are later convicted of the DWI.

Sure, options like rideshare exist for anyone that no longer has a valid license. For anyone working on a budget, however, the additional cost of hiring a cab or a rideshare driver multiple times each day could be too much. Additionally, with insurance premiums often paid in advance, it is likely impossible to avoid the cost of maintaining your vehicle, whether you can drive it or not.

Recognizing these issues, Texas adopted what are known as occupational licenses. These licenses allow you to drive while your license remains suspended due to DWI. However, there are strict limitations on the hours you can use this license.

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 Posted on November 11, 2019 in Uncategorized

Despite freezing conditions, Arlington police arrested a man naked from the waist down on November 15, 2019. Despite arriving on the scene to investigate reports of a disturbance, police ultimately arrested him on the charge of driving while intoxicated.

Residents of the Arlington neighborhood phoned police on the evening of November 15 after Walied Taha, 27, allegedly began knocking on doors in the 4800 block of Hollow Tree Court in Arlington. According to the police report, the residents noticed Taha acting erratically. This was punctuated by the fact that he was wearing a jacket but was nude from the waist down.

When police arrived at the scene, they observed a vehicle parked in the middle of a roadway nearby. As the officers investigated the vehicle, the partially nude man approached them admitted to owning the vehicle. The police report reflects that the officers suspected Taha was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time. After Taha performed field sobriety tests, the officers arrested him under suspicion of DWI despite never seeing him drive.

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 Posted on November 11, 2019 in Uncategorized

There is no question that a conviction for driving while intoxicated can have major consequences for anyone. Spending the night in jail and losing the right to drive temporarily are major setbacks, but they are only part of the problem for a person that is arrested under suspicion of driving while intoxicated during the process of immigrating to the United States.

Applying for and receiving a green card is a long, drawn-out process. The agents involved in making the decision to accept or reject applicants have significant amounts of leeway in their decision making, which makes it crucial to limit potential legal hurdles as much as possible. A conviction for a DWI could quickly upend your chances for success. If you are facing a DWI charge in Houston, discuss your case with attorney Doug Murphy before these charges impact your immigration status.

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 Posted on November 11, 2019 in Uncategorized

A DWI checkpoint is a powerful tool used by law enforcement in some states. These checkpoints are roadblocks used to screen for drunk drivers. In some cases, the police will set up roadblocks on days where a high number of intoxicated drivers are suspected, like New Years' Eve or July 4^th.

The procedure at each DWI checkpoint differs. In some instances, every driver that comes through is given a breathalyzer. In other cases, drivers are only stopped at intervals. Other times, officers who suspect a stopped driver is intoxicated will investigate further. In many cases, this will result in their arrest under suspicion of DWI.

However, the constitutionality of DWI checkpoints has long been a divisive issue. While the United States Supreme Court has ruled that checkpoints may be used in some cases, not every state allows them. That begs the question: are DWI checkpoints legal in Texas?

Federal Law Regarding DWI Checkpoints

In 1990, the Supreme Court took up the issue of whether DWI checkpoints were constitutional. Detractors argued that being stopped at a checkpoint – no matter how briefly – constitutes an illegal seizure. The Court disagreed, holding states could authorize checkpoints if there is a reasonable system used by police. Typically, this involves DWI checkpoints that are minimally intrusive.

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 Posted on November 11, 2019 in Uncategorized

Could you be charged with driving while intoxicated after consuming an energy drink? You might be surprised to learn that energy drinks are a common cause of false positives on portable breath tests. While the window for these false positives to occur is fairly small, the reality is that energy drinks have led to the arrest for suspicion of DWI for people that are entirely sober. How is this possible?

Ethanol and Energy Drinks

These results occur for a simple reason: there are small amounts of alcohol in most energy drinks. This is not the sort of alcohol that you might find in a cocktail, however. For any energy drink, the ingredients include small levels of ethanol alcohol. The alcohol concentration in these beverages is negligible; nowhere near high enough to classify them as an alcoholic beverage. However, reports of false positives in DWI breath-testing have been common since these drinks' popularity has skyrocketed.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services decided to test the impact these beverages had on the state's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) testing equipment. First, the researchers tested the drinks themselves. They determined that nearly 90 percent of these energy drinks contained low levels of ethanol alcohol. The researchers then had volunteers sample 27 of the most popular brands of energy drinks. After finishing an entire can, each volunteer was tested repeatedly using both portable breath tests as well as the breathalyzer machines used in police stations across the state.

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 Posted on November 11, 2019 in Uncategorized

Traffic stops follow a familiar pattern when an officer suspects you of driving while intoxicated. First, the police will look for any obvious signs of alcohol use. This could include the smell of an alcohol beverage, drink containers in plain sight, or even an admission from you of consuming an alcoholic beverage. When the police believe you are under the influence of alcohol but lack the evidence to make an arrest, a common tool for obtaining probable cause is the use of field sobriety tests.

Field sobriety tests do not measure the alcohol in your bloodstream like a breath or blood test. Instead, they are a series of physical activities that supposedly subjective evidence of intoxication. While it is common knowledge that refusing a breath test can potentially have consequences against your driving privileges, is the same true for field sobriety tests?

Understanding Field Sobriety Tests

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